DE-A-199 44 620 discloses an aircraft passenger seat having individual seat components including a leg rest and a back rest. The seat components in question may be moved by operating devices in the form of actuating drives or actuators controlled by a manually operated operating device for adjusting the seat to the requirements of the respective seat occupant. For the seat components, hand levers based on the contours of these seat components are present as a component of the operating device. Levers, combined in one operating device, may effect a clear-cut adjustment for the seat components involved. If, in the case of the conventional solution, the hand of a seat occupant comes in contact with the control panel, an unintended adjustment movement of the seat is possible. Such unintended movement may result in startling of the passenger and may involve some danger to the occupant of the seat.
EP-B-0 774 913 discloses a vehicle or aircraft passenger seat with an electric control operation acting on a leg rest to monitor the position of the leg rest to prevent impact of the foot rest, as an integral part of the leg rest, on the floor. To monitor protection against the impact involved, the electronic control unit monitors both the current position of the footrest and the current position of the leg rest. If this conventional seat is provided with an operating component for actuation, an operating component is provided which communicates with the actuating device by way of a cable connection or the like. Especially when the operating component is laid aside, an inadvertent actuating process may occur, one attended by the disadvantages already described. In addition, the conventional solution is also provided with an individual operating button (magic button) which makes it possible by means of only one operation of this magic button to transfer the seat from any given position to a so-called upright position for takeoff and landing and in an emergency situation, for example, if crashing of the aircraft is to be feared. The single operating button used for this purpose also causes the seat adjustment process described to be carried out in the event of unintentional operation.